Blackwater Rifles
History Sarton tradition dictates that the name of a regiment- whether PDF or Imperial Guard comes from the region where it was founded and by tradition, its commanding officer comes from the regional capital. The regiment came from the city of Blackwater, the capital of the Blackwater region. Once called "Clearwater" the name changed when the river was polluted by industry. The city was a working class town home to men and women attracted by high paying work in the factories and slaughterhouses. things changed as time passed, factory owners began saving money by using Ogryns as workers instead. With their way of life gone many men turned to the Imperial Guard, sending their pay home to their families. The Sarton 6th Heavy Infantry(the 6th of 13 regiments sent to fight) was founded shortly before the Crusade for Nightshores Unusually, once the fighting was over the units were disbanded and allowed to return home but many did not- instead settling on the newly claimed worlds of Nightshores. Tolomai Heights (the Clash of Legends) While the Blackwater Rifles fought in many battles in the Crusade their greatest is the Battle of Tolomai Heights, on the world of Lanuar V- also known as the Clash of Legends. Tolomai Heights saw the Ogryn companies(themselves legend to their Akoni allies) face and defeat Beastmen who had sworn loyalty to Khorne in a brutal close quarters melee fight. While Ogryns were a common sight to the men of the Sarton Imperial Guard other Abhumans were not- existing only in fairy tales meant to frighten misbehaving children or in jokes poking fun at Ratlings. Tolomai Heights was a sobering lesson. They lost 79 Ogryns including a beloved BONEhead sergeant named Gamjee who died in a duel with a Minotaur and the captain of the 1st company, Markus Holman, noteworthy as the only Human to die that day. They traded 80 dead on their side for more than 700 Beastmen and the capture of the Tolomai Heights, later used as an artillery position by the Crusade army. Structure Officer Corps 1.Officer Corps of 20 men composed of 1. Colonel 2 18 captains 3. Regimental Commissar Ogryn Companies A full third of the Blackwater Rifles consisted of Ogryns- armed with heavy weapons, high explosives, clubs and makeshift body armor made of scrap, they were used as the first wave in assaults or the front line in other battles. The reasoning being that Ogryns would not die as easily as ordinary humans and that no enemy could be prepared for a charging mass of 600 of them. These 600 Ogryns fell under the command of human captains and the Regimental Commissar but beyond that organization was rather irregular- with no set platoon or company size beyond what the Ogryn BONEheads who acted as Sergeants could control. The people of Sarton had no real dislike toward them, treating them as they would a simple minded relative- albeit one far larger and suited to harder and more dangerous tasks. Riflemen The other 12 companies were simply ordinary humans. 1.12 companies of 100 each lead by a Captain broken down into 2. 5 platoons of 20 each commanded by a Vice- Captain(equivalent to a Lt.) broken into 3. 4 squads of 5 men each- 4 troopers and 1 grenadier armed with the Sarton pattern Grenade Launcher. Equipment M37 pattern lasgun Sarton Pattern Grenade Launcher Knife Sarton "Hammerhand" Revolver Imperial Guardsman's Uplifing Primer Sarton flak armor/helmet 7 days of rations bedroll/pack Akoni The Imperial Guard of Akoni(the Akoni 3rd Drop Infantry was 1 of 22 regiments) and the Imperial Guard of Sarton fought together in the Crusade for Nightshores developing an Intense respect for each other's skills. Most notably in the case of the 3rd Akoni and the Blackwater Rifles lacking in every way but in Heavy Infantry the Sarton Imperial Guard found themselves in danger of being outflanked in one major battle- only the timely deployment of the 3rd Akoni saved them and later won the battle. From that moment forward the High Command deployed these units together for the remainder of the crusade. The Akoni remained completely fascinated by Ogryns(which none had seen in person) and the Sarton by Akoni tattoos and the exotic women depicted in aircraft nose art many friendships were born of the working relationship- they remained close friends, allies and trading partners after the end of the Crusade. Category:Iox Category:Imperial Guard Regiments Category:BrowncoatMando Category:Imperial Guard